Kissing in Cars
by SpunkRansom225
Summary: When Jacob gets the invitation to Bella's wedding, he doesn't run, but he does lose his last hopes of ever getting her back. He gets a pep talk from an unexpected person which inspires him to give winning back the love of his life one last shot.
1. Chapter 1

Jacob lied in his bed, wide awake. He should've been sleeping right now. God knew he was tired enough for it. The amount of patrols he'd run this week though didn't seem to matter. He just couldn't make his body relax. His mind was riled up, busy thinking about what had been waiting for him earlier.

A fucking wedding invitation. Cullen was one sick bastard. Jacob had half a mind to send a letter back saying _Hey leech, you are cordially invited to watch me rip your bloodsucker family to shreds and then dance on their body parts. I'm sure you'll enjoy that just as much as I'll like seeing you marry the woman I love!_

He'd just rubbed it in his face more at the end of that personal letter, as if the invitation itself hadn't already played its part in ripping what Bella had left of Jacob's heart to shreds. _Thank you – for her – for everything._

Fuck you, Cullen.

His deep sigh echoed through his tiny bedroom. That's it; he had to get out of the house because sleep was definitely not coming anytime soon. He got up and threw some shorts over his boxers and walked out the front door. He figured there was no need to leave Billy a note or anything. He was always out in the middle of the night anyway and he could take care of himself.

Jacob spared a glance at the tree line and thought better of it. Embry, Jared and Paul were on patrol and at the moment he really wanted to keep his thoughts to himself. So he made his way to the beach, hands in his pockets as he walked.

He got to the cliffs and looked out. The water had always been calming to him. Watching it, being in it, listening to it hit the shore. It always helped to clear his mind, no matter what stubborn thought was busy gluing itself to his brains walls. Sometimes when he thought of his mom he could come to the beach and things would get a little better for him. Now, the only thing this place and the sound of the waves did was bring back every memory he ever had of Bella and him on this very beach.

The stupid ocean could rot in hell for all he cared.

He kicked a rock off the edge and cursed Edward Cullen under his breath. "I'd really appreciate it if you spread your teenage angst elsewhere. This is my spot."

Jacob turned to his left to see Leah sitting on the ground and leaning against a big rock, a large bottle in her hand. It was half empty. Or half full, depending on whether or not you were an optimist. It was easy to guess which one Jacob would pick based on his current mood.

He scoffed as he answered Leah. "Your spot? I don't see your name written anywhere over here. What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at home crying over one of Sam's t-shirts?" He knew he shouldn't start anything with Leah but hell, everything else was going downhill already. Why not make more enemies?

"Shouldn't you be at home jacking off in your closet shrine of the chief's pale ass daughter?"

"Right after you write a fantasy story about your life with our alpha based on a picture of him and Emily where you taped your face over hers."

"Touché, jackass. It's gonna be a novel. Hits stores in a couple years. I'd ask you to edit it for me but you might be busy with your half white kids. Oh wait, she didn't pick you." She took a swig from her bottle and gave him an evil smirk.

"Fuck you, Leah."

"Thanks, but no. I don't have sex with children."

"Yeah whatever. I'd rock your world."

"Even without batteries my vibrator could do a better job than your virgin ass." Jacob bit his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to retaliate but it would probably lead to more hits to his pride. Instead of supplying a comeback, he took a seat beside Leah. She raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to say?"

"Nope."

"Pity, I was enjoying myself." She stuck her hand with the bottle in it towards him. "Want to share my therapist with me? Free of charge. Dr. Jack Daniels is good at soothing pain."

Jacob grabbed the bottle warily, having never had anything stronger than a sip of the beer he, Embry and Quil had shared from his father's refrigerator. He took a gulp, not wanting to look like a wimp and ended up choking from the burn in his throat. Leah smacked him on the back a couple of times while shaking her head. "Pathetic."

"God, that's strong."

"No shit. It's gotta be, with this stupid wolf metabolism." Leah took the bottle back from him and lifted it to her lips, taking two gulps – without choking, Jacob noted miserably – and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She leaned her head against the boulder and sighed. Before Jacob's brain could tell his mouth not to, he asked. "Is this what you do when you miss Sam?" Leah's eyes snapped open and Jacob saw his life flash before his eyes. The words 'I'm sorry' were already on the tip of his tongue when Leah interrupted him.

"Do you like losing, Jacob?"

"Um what?"

She repeated it slower this time. "Do. You. Like. Being. A. Loser?

"I uh… is this a trick q–?

"Because it seems to me like you do."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

"You're a dumb ass."

"Leah, I–"

"Shut up." He kept his mouth shut. "Look Jacob, you're a smart kid. Well you're of average intelligence. Okay, you're not dumb."

"Could you get to the point?"

"Who said it wasn't my point to insult you?" She winked. "Anyway, like I was saying, you're pretty smart, so I can't figure out why you don't realize that you're throwing away your last chance at happiness by sitting around and moping."

"I've tried everything already," Jacob said hopelessly.

"Obviously you haven't tried everything, otherwise you'd already have her."

"But she's getting married, Leah." This didn't phase her one bit. "What's your fucking point? Last time I checked, marriage has got nothing on imprinting. Unless there's some freaky shit that the leeches can do with their sparkles that binds people to them forever. Is there?"

Jacob shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Well then get off your sad behind and go get your girl." Jacob glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Are you… trying to look out for me?" he asked, shocked.

Leah drank down what was left in her bottle. "I couldn't do anything about Sam – imprinting is some tough shit to break – but you can do something about your love life. For some reason, you really like this Bella–"

"I love her."

"I was talking, ass."

"Sorry."

She cleared her throat. "For some reason, you like that skinny, emo white girl so I say go for it. Don't tell anyone I'm inspiring you to follow your dreams or anything. If anything happens to my Bitchiest Girl on the Rez reputation, I'm killing you." She got up from the ground and brushed off her pants. She gave him a two finger salute and started to walk towards her home. Jacob scrambled to thank her in time. "Uh, thanks Leah!"

"Whatever, shit for brains!"

Despite the horrible start to his night, Jacob felt good enough to smile as he walked back to his house. Leah Clearwater was the last person Jacob expected to inspire him, but she had and tomorrow he would begin calculating his major plan to make Bella Swan his.

**Chapter two will be up in a couple of days. I don't have a set schedule yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Jacob woke up feeling better than he had in a couple of weeks. He didn't know why he felt so optimistic towards getting Bella to choose him now, since he'd been trying for so long. Apparently getting told off and insulted did the trick. He wondered if maybe that was why motivational books didn't always succeed, because they were too nice. He got out of bed with a little more pep in his step than the day before and made his way to the kitchen for some breakfast. Billy was already at the table, eating some cereal when he got there. "Morning, son," he said.

"Good morning, Dad," Jacob said brightly, dragging the o's in the word good. Billy smiled big. Jacob could tell his father was surprised at his sudden chipper attitude that had taken the place of his usual bitter one.

"What's got you so happy this morning?" Jacob answered as he poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms. "I've decided to give getting Bella to pick me one last try." Billy's smile fell. Jacob turned to set his bowl of cereal down on the table and stopped short at his father's expression. "What?" he asked. His father sighed.

"Jake, sit down please." Jacob could tell this would not be a pleasant talk. He sat down across from Billy and made eye contact and then nodded, signaling that he was listening. "Jacob, why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Jacob felt his good mood quickly slipping away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He looked down at his cereal, wishing that he hadn't told his father his real reason for being happy this morning.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Billy rubbed his hands over his face. "Jake, you know that I like Bella. She's my best friend's daughter for Christ's sakes, but you're my child and I need to look out for you. I––"

"Why don't you want me to be happy, Dad?"

"Why do you think I'm telling you this? Not because I want you to be miserable. I am sick and tired of seeing you walk around this house like your puppy died. You tried already, okay? Many times. You said you loved her and she didn't feel the same."

"She loves me too," Jacob said petulantly. He refused to let his father belittle Bella's feelings for him.

"Look, Jacob. I love you, son. I just want what's best for you and chasing after a girl who has made her choice, a girl who's getting married in a few short weeks is not it. Someone else will come along. I promise you."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we change the subject, please?" Jacob started to eat his now soggy cereal. Billy sighed one more time.

"Fine. Can you do me a favor and move another box of cereal to the lower cabinets when you're done eating? This was the last of the box that was down there."

"Sure."

"Did you take out the trash last night like I asked?"

"Forgot."

"Do it soon."

"'Kay."

"How's that credit recovery coming along?"

Jacob shrugged. "Fine." Billy had finished his cereal a little while ago and rolled over to the sink, disposing of his dish. "Well I can see that I'm not going to get anymore than one syllable answers from you, so I'm going to visit Sue, see how she's doing. Think about what I said."

"Later," Jacob said as he chewed another bite of the breakfast he no longer wanted. Billy wheeled out of the kitchen, shaking his head.

XXXXX

Jacob didn't want to think about what his father had said. He lay belly up on the old car seat in his garage with his hands behind his head, thinking about how wrong this morning had went. All he had wanted was for his father to be supportive of his choice. If freaking Leah Clearwater could want this for him, why couldn't his own dad? So what if Bella had shot him down a bunch of times? He knew that she loved him and that was enough to convince him that he had a chance at this. Now if only he could figure out exactly how he was going to do this…

"Yo, Jake, you in there?" He heard Embry's voice a few feet away from the garage. "Yeah, I'm in here," he called back, still trying to come up with a brilliant plan. He was still brainstorming when Embry walked through the doorway accompanied by Quil.

"Sup, Jake?" Quil said. Jacob merely nodded at him as he sat up. "What's up with you? Still being a girl over Bella?" Embry asked with a snicker. He and Quil fist bumped while they laughed. Jacob would get upset if he knew they weren't just being dicks like best friends were supposed to.

"Go to hell, Call. I was thinking."

"Aw, about how much you missed us? Well we're here now buddy." Embry plopped down on the seat next to Jacob and Quil chose to lean against the hood of the Rabbit.

"I was thinking about Bella actually."

"Knew it!" Quil exclaimed. He and Embry began laughing again. "We should've bet on how long it would take him to say her name."

"Fuck you both. I've decided to try again and get her to choose me and––"

"Yikes," Quil interrupted at the same time Embry made a face and said, "Oh, good luck."

Jacob rolled his eyes and ignored their pessimism. "I'm trying to come up with a game plan but I'm at a standstill."

"What do you have in mind so far?" Quil asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Embry patted him on his shoulder. "Well fear no more. You'll get her back." Jacob raised his brow. "A couple of seconds ago you didn't seem to think so."

"Yes, but that was when we thought you were going to do it alone. Now that we know to help you, you're sure to succeed. Me and Em will take care of things."

"Gee, thanks for your vote of confidence."

"No problem." Jacob shook his head. "So what exactly do you guys think I should do?"

"Well, me being such a ladies man––" Jacob snorted and Embry laughed loudly. Quil shot them both looks that said shut the hell up. "Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?"

"Fine, go ahead," Jacob said.

"I think you should write her a poem."

"Oh, good advice, Quil. That will definitely lure her away from the jewels and money. I know that if I were a girl I'd leave a rich guy because of a bunch of rhyming words." Jacob laughed. "He's got a point." Quil huffed. "Whatever."

"Your turn, Embry."

"You should serenade her."

"That's stupid," Jacob said. Quil nodded. "Yeah man. That's pretty dumb. He should send naked pics."

"What? Singing to her is way better than stupid poetry! And really, naked pictures? If his body was enough to win her over, she'd be here now. You know Jacob always makes sure his shirt is off when she's around."

Quil looked contemplative. "Hmm, he's right, Jake."

"About the singing?"

"No, the shirt thing. You're always half naked when she's near you. You're kind of a tramp, dude. Have some class." Jacob blew out a gust of air. "This is getting no where."

"It's because you're not contributing, lazy. We're here to _help_, not do everything for you," Embry said. "Yeah!" Quil agreed.

"Come on, Quil. Let's go and raid his kitchen for our services." They both got up and started to walk out of the garage.

"You didn't even help me!" Jacob called after them. "So what! We're still hungry!" Quil called back. Jacob fell back onto the cushion and groaned. He needed to call Leah.

**I've decided to just update as I write. The outline is done and I think this way is best. That way I won't be stressing over meeting deadlines. **


	3. Chapter 3

Yesterday had not been productive. At all. Not only had Jacob gotten a reality check from his father but he also realized he had no idea how he was going to get Bella to choose him. Nope. Not a clue. What he needed was a game plan. He also needed help. Girl help. That's what had led him to the Clearwater home this morning. Showing up in person would definitely get him more help than a phone call would. He knocked on the door and prayed that not all of Leah's niceness had been alcohol induced the other night.

The door swung open a couple of seconds later and Jacob was greeted by Leah's unsmiling face. "Ew," she said. Jacob offered an awkward wave. "Uh, hey, Leah."

She leaned against the door frame and gave him a look. "What do you want, Black?"

"I need help."

"Clearly, if you think I want you at my door. Especially while I'm in the middle of a Supernatural marathon."

"I'm being serious. Yesterday I started thinking about what I could do to make Bella pick me and I couldn't come up with anything. Quil and Embry tried to help but that didn't get me anywhere. So––"

"What exactly do I have to do with all of this?"

"Well I figured since you were so nice and helped me the other––"

"Ugh! This is what I get for trying to do some good. Look, Jake, we had a nice little chat on the beach and I gave you some advice, but that doesn't mean you can just pop up here whenever you need some more motivation. Do I look like a freaking relationship guru?"

"But––"

"I'm not even good at this stuff. I wouldn't know where to start. You should go ask Emily for help. She's girly." She started to close the door and Jacob shook his head. "But I don't want Emily. I prefer you." Something changed in Leah's face and she stopped short. She sighed. "Come on…" she said and stepped aside for him to walk in.

Jacob walked into the living room and Leah walked in after him, grabbed the remote and paused the TV. "Go to the kitchen," she commanded. Jacob walked into the kitchen like she said and took a seat on one of the island stools. Leah opened a drawer and pulled out a notepad and pen and tossed them to him.

She walked over to the fridge and got an apple and then leaned against the counter. "Write down what you have so far and we'll go from there," Leah said, taking a bite. "I told you, I don't have anything yet." Jake answered.

"Jesus, I thought you were exaggerating. You really are slow."

"I didn't know where to start."

"Hmm. Maybe you know, make contact with her! Were you going to sway her telepathically?"

"You don't need to be mean about it."

She sighed again. "Alright, write down what I say. We're going to make your game plan right now. Title it _Operation Get the Leech-Lover Away From the Leech._" Jacob wrote down _Win Bella Over_ instead. "Got that down?" Jacob nodded.

"Okay! Step two––"

"Wait, what happened to step one?"

Leah smacked herself on the forehead. "We just went over this. Make contact. She has to be near you for you to do anything. My God, focus!"

"I feel bad for Seth having to live with you."

"Shut up and write down step two. Wine and dine her."

"Bella doesn't like stuff like that. Cullen does it all the time and she complains."

"Well he's just not doing it right. Every girl likes special attention and to be pampered. You just need to do it in a way that speaks to her personality."

"Okay, what should I get her then?"

"Start with some tanning lotion."

"Leah!" She raised a brow. "What? I'm not doing everything for you. Hell, I'm not the one who's in love with her. Think, stupid. You should know the shit she likes." It was Jacob's turn to sigh. "Fine, I'll think on it later."

"Good, moving on then. Step three: Keep her in La Push as much as you can. The more she's away from her vamp, the less chance there is of her getting away from you. Ask her to help you grocery shop or something."

"I could get her to help me with school stuff. I have to make some things up before September." Leah smiled approvingly. "There you go. Look at you, thinking for yourself." Jacob rolled his eyes. "Okay what next?"

Leah took a couple more bites of her apple and thought a bit. "Alright, step four: Whenever she's around you, put a couple of ideas in her head about how good you are for her. Make her think she's missing something by being with the bloodsucker. Don't be fucking obvious about it though! Like if you feel the urge to say 'We'd make pretty babies' or 'I bet my junk is bigger than his,' don't. Just bite down on your tongue and don't."

"I'm not a complete idiot, Leah. I can manage something like that."

"We'll see. Guys get stupid when it comes to girls."

"Is that it?" Jacob asked after writing the last thing Leah had said. She finished off her apple and threw it away before she began speaking again.

"There's one last thing. It's actually the most important so hopefully you don't fuck it up. Last step: only when you think she's ready to hear it, explain to her how much you love her. I know it didn't work before but let's hope that paired with all that other crap it works this time. Tell her everything that makes her awesome. Mention a couple of quirks that other people might find annoying. _Then_ you can go overboard on the I'm-the-better-choice thing. And for God's sakes, please make it romantic!" Jacob finished scribbling the last of her instructions and tore the paper out to put in his pocket. "Thanks a bunch, Leah."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out." He stood up and Leah began pushing him towards the door. "Remember, make contact. Call her when you get home," she said, and then shut the door in his face.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Bella pulled up to the Black's house. She wasn't in her truck though. Instead she was driving a really expensive black car, a Mercedes Guardian to be exact. It was a beautiful car and Jacob would have _loved _to be behind the wheel of it, but that was just who he was. Nothing about the car said 'Bella' though. No doubt Cullen had picked it out for her. Question is, what had happened to her truck? She hadn't said anything about it during their phone call last night.

Actually, she hadn't said much during their phone call last night. Jacob hadn't known what to expect after three weeks of no communication after she had broken his heart, but he hadn't expected what had happened. She seemed nervous and the conversation ended up being excruciatingly awkward. Things with Bella were _never _supposed to be awkward. He was surprised she had even agreed to come over today. Basically they were back at square one. Jacob knew even before Bella got out of her car that she would be exactly as she was when she had come to him that first time with the bikes. She'd most likely look a lot better than she had then because her leech was with her, but she wouldn't act like _his_ Bella.

And he was right. She stepped out of the car and began walking towards him, offering a small wave and guarded smile along the way. He didn't know where to start with damage control. It was all Jacob could do not to grab her and drive off somewhere until things were back to the way they were before. The sorrow from not being able to call Bella his own was multiplied tenfold by not even being able to have a friendship with her. "Hey, Bells," he said when she got to his door. He didn't dare touch her for fear that she'd run away. She gave him another meek smile. "Hi." She put her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. "So what are our plans for today?"

Jacob stepped into his house and nodded for her to follow him. "I figured we could just hang out like usual, just enjoy each others company. I've missed you Bells." _So much. _It didn't sound like much of a plan said like that but Jacob figured before putting all of Leah's instructions into play, the first step to getting Bella to want him over Cullen was making her comfortable around him again. He noted that she definitely was not by the uneasy look she was sporting as he patted the spot next to him on the couch.

Bella sat down next to him and put her hands in her lap, playing with them. More specifically, playing with one finger, and the ring that adorned it. Jacob sighed at the reminder that she was taken by another man and turned on the TV, flipping straight to the Food Network.

Bella smiled softly at him. "Thanks."

He feigned ignorance. "What? Oh, the TV? Nah. That's not for you; I just love Ace of Cakes."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course you do."

"Honest. You've missed some things these past three weeks. I make a mean pineapple upside down cake now." Bella's smile fell slightly at his comment. He felt bad about the split second that he thought _Good, she __**should **__feel bad about doing this to me. _He took it back immediately.

Jacob looked over at Bella and she looked unbelievably tense. He turned to her; he had to fix things. "Bella." She looked at him and cautiously made eye contact. He took that as a sign to continue. "I need you to relax, Bells." She looked ready to object, most likely say that she was perfectly fine but Jacob knew that was far from the truth. Was she forgetting that he knew her better than she probably knew herself? He could read her like a book.

"When I told you that I would behave, that I wouldn't make things hard on you, I was being honest. I want you to be able to be happy, even if its not with me." Even though he _longed _for it to be him that she chose. "You were my best friend before I loved you, Bella. I love you so much more than that now," she broke eye contact when he said that, obviously feeling uncomfortable because of her guilt, "but right now I know that you need me to be just Jake, not the guy who's making you choose. I can be your best friend Bella––" even if it killed him "––I just need you to let me be that."

Bella looked back at him. She looked like she was thinking deeply. Jacob could read her well, but he was no telepath and right about now he wished he was. She eventually sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just, _please_… don't act like we're strangers." Bella made a show of rolling her shoulders and shaking her hands, as if shaking the nervousness from her body. "Okay, I'm loose," she said. Jacob could see that she was lying, the trepidation still plainly written on her face but he smiled at the fact that she was making an effort. She'd tried, so now it was his turn to try and get things back to how they were: easy as breathing.

"Hey, Bells, want to go and hang out in the garage with me while I do some work on the Rabbit?" Bella perked up at the idea. "Sure," she said as she got up and started walking to the door. Jacob turned off the television and followed suit.

When they got to Jacob's makeshift garage, Bella went straight to the old car seat as Jacob walked over to his car. "I thought you were done with everything on your car."

"Oh, I am. I just have to change the oil and sometimes the engine needs a little tweaking."

"Must be nice not to have to go to a mechanic for everything." Jacob got on the floor and slid under the car. "Yep. I'm way more talented than any of them anyway."

"And so modest, too," Bella chuckled.

"What do you say, Bells," Jacob called from under the Rabbit, "three more years for my mad skills?"

"Oh, no way! You got extra years for mechanical skills when you were building the motorcycles!"

Jacob slid from under the car to look at her and sat up. "Exactly. Now we're talking about my amazing abilities pertaining to cars. So, that leaves me at about 35, right?"

Bella huffed and crossed her arms. "That's not that much older than me."

"Bella, you're 29."

"Like I said, not that much older."

"Okay, little one." Jacob smiled, happy Bella had loosened up for real now. The return of their old game brought back good memories of warm soda and dirty jokes and said soda being spit out onto his garage floor. A time when Jacob didn't have to worry about Bella being snatched away from him.

"At least I could run circles around you in a kitchen," she said, oblivious to his thoughts. "That's true," he conceded. "I'm damn good at making a fire though."

"I can sew."

"I'm a good hiker."

"I know how to balance a checkbook."

"Wimp. I could probably balance a tree," he teased. Bella laughed and said, "Well I used to dance ballet."

"Well I'm not a klutz." Jacob grinned when Bella stuck her tongue at him. She thought a bit. "Um, I can write a ten page paper in two hours."

"Big deal, I can turn into a wolf!" Jacob was certain he'd won, but he was thinking about mentioning his talent for fishing when Bella said, "Well I'm more experienced at making out." She realized what she had said and slapped a hand over her mouth, too late. It was like she had stabbed him in the heart… again. Of course she was. She probably got a lot of practice with her leech.

Jacob tried to make the pain that was etched onto his features disappear. He could salvage this afternoon and get past it. If he lost the rest of today, that would be one less day out of the four weeks he had to fight for her. He swallowed down the pain and got up to walk towards her.

Bella backed up. "I'm sorry. I didn't think." She quickly turned away from him and started running out to her car. Jacob would've run after her if it hadn't been for Billy's words this morning finding a way to the forefront to his mind. _She'll hurt you again, son. Just stop while you're ahead. _

Jacob was crushed when he realized a part of him wanted to listen to his father.


	5. Chapter 5

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Bella chanted to herself as she stood over the sink, fresh out of the shower. "You alright in there, kiddo?" Charlie called from the hall on his way to his bedroom. "Yeah, Dad, fine."

Bella looked back in the mirror and glared at herself. Seriously, she thought, who says something like that? It was inconsiderate and heart wrenching, especially when Bella thought that of course hearing something like that could only evoke images of her lips attached to Edward's in Jacob's mind. It was like all Bella was capable of doing was hurting him.

It wasn't even true. What experience did she have, save for a couple of kisses with Edward that could barely be considered open-mouthed? Jacob… he was a good kisser. He was an _amazing _kisser, actually. Bella thought back to their kiss on the cliff before the new-born fight and she felt goose bumps. If she was being honest with herself, she was self sabotaging. Saying something as hurtful and confidence shattering as that was sure to get Jacob to stop loving her. At least maybe now there was more of a chance that he would move on.

Bella gathered her things from the bathroom and walked into her bedroom where Edward was waiting for her. She climbed into bed and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. As much as she tried to, she couldn't get comfortable while snuggled into his hard form. She finally just gave up and lay still, letting a sigh escape. "What are you thinking of, love?"

"The sun."

XXXXX

Jacob sat at his kitchen table, picking at what remained of his third bologna sandwich. "Eat it. We don't have food to waste," Billy said, rolling into the kitchen and to the fridge to pour himself a glass of water for his meds. Jacob glanced up at his father and took a bite, shooting Billy a "happy now?" look. Billy wheeled himself over to the table and stopped across from Jacob. "I don't even remember the last time I had to tell you to eat. "What's on your mind, son?"

Jacob sighed. "Bella."

"Oh God, not this again. Didn't I–"

"I'm just upset about something that happened the other day, alright?"

"Did Bella do something?" Jacob really didn't want to tell his father what happened, not after the lecture he'd gotten. Of course what Bella had said hurt him, but he didn't want his father to think any less of Bella than he already did. He reluctantly told him. "She said something to me the other day that made me feel like crap." Billy started to say something and Jacob quickly added, "But I think it's because she was upset or something. I'm sure she didn't mean it." He'd partly said it to placate Billy… and partly to make himself feel a little better, even though he knew it was a lie.

Billy looked thoughtful. "Charlie did say something about her being crushed that her truck had finally died for good. Still, that's no reason for her to be nasty to you. You need to let this go, Jacob."

Jacob glance at the kitchen's clock and stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. "I have to patrol now."

As soon as Jacob was in the woods and phased, everyone else that was phased invaded his mind and too many thoughts at once were sent his way.

_You should've left it alone, man._

_Wow, can't believe she said that._

_I can, I've always known she was a bitch!_

_I think she's nice. Everyone says bad things every once in a while._

_Shut up, Seth. You just think she's hot._

_Don't talk to my brother like that, Call. I'll rip your fucking tail off._

_Could you not treat everyone like shit for once?_

_Fuck you, Quil._

_Could you all just shut up?_

_Sorry man, you feeling alright?_

_Yeah, fine I guess. _

_Liar._

_Shut the hell up, Leah._

_Why should I? No reason to feel that bad for him; it was his choice to go after her again._

_Yeah, with a hell of a lot motivation from you._

_Well forgive me for trying to actually do something nice for once!_

_You should've just stuck to being mean._

_Cool off, alright. She was just trying to help me. _

_Thanks, Black._

_No problem. What should I do now?_

_Dude, you're not really thinking of still perusing this, are you? She's broken your heart more times than any of us can count. _

_Yes, Embry, I'm still going to try._

_I agree with him, man._

_Well I don't, I think it's sweet that he's still trying._

_Fruits can't vote._

_I swear, Call. You've got one more time to insult my brother before I kill you._

_Shut up, Embry. You too, Quil. What should I do, Leah?_

Leah did the wolf version of a shrug. _I say we just stick to the plan. Get her back over here. You're going to the bonfire tonight, right?_

_Yeah._

_Alright, invite her._

XXXXX

For the second time this week, Bella's Mercedes pulled up to Jacob's house. He met her at her door. "Bella," he nodded, his hands in his pockets. It was good to see her again, but he was still a little bitter about their last visit. Bella seemed just as distant, but he knew she would be. Mostly because he just knew what kinds of reactions she had to certain occurrences but part of it was their phone call earlier.

"_Hello?"_

"_There's a bonfire tonight, I'd like it if you came."_

"_Oh, Jake, I'm so sorry about the other day. It was stupid and I wasn't thinking and I ruined the game and I don't–"_

"_Bella stop. I'll get over it." Because that's just what Jacob did; Bella would hurt him and he'd get over it because he loved her so much – too much. "Will you come?"_

"_I… don't know, Jacob."_

"_Please, Bell? What is it, the leech won't let you out of his sight?"_

_She sighed. Jacob could hear both the anger and indecisiveness in it. "No, that's not it. Edward actually left this morning to go hunting."_

"_So then nothing is holding you back. Come down." She sighed again and this time Jacob heard reluctant resignation. "Fine, but I'm not promising to be good company."_

"_Sure, sure. Same old stuff. See you in a few."_

Jacob grabbed Bella's hand and started walking her towards the beach. "Jake," she said tugging her hand a bit. "Relax, Bella. I'm holding your hand, not trying to take off your top." Bella rolled her eyes but slipped her hand around his anyway.

"So the bloodsucker went hunting, huh?" She nodded. "He gonna bring you back a finger or something?"

Bella slapped his chest with a hit she thought probably hurt him, trying to feign anger but he saw the small smile playing on her lips. "Shut up, Jake. The Cullens don't even hunt humans. They're vegetarians."

"Yeah, honey, I know. If they didn't, a war would've broke out a long time ago. They still kill, and I've never seen a vegetarian hunt a deer so I think you need to find another term."

"Bella!" Embry came running over to them as they neared the beach and swooped Bella into a big hug. Funny, Jacob thought, a couple of hours ago Embry seemingly hated Bella.

"Hi, Embry, I've missed you!" Bella said as Embry set her down. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, still smiling. Jacob let his eyes linger a little too long on her lips. "Yeah I know, long time no see, vampire girl–"

"Don't call her that." They both glanced at Jacob, caught off guard by the venom in his tone. He was surprised as well. "Okay…" Embry said awkwardly. "What'cha been up to, Swan?"

"Not much, just being Bella."

"Sounds dangerous." Bella laughed. "Yeah, well–"

"I hate to break up this little reunion," he really didn't, "but I invited Bella over here to spend time with me."

"Whoa, aright, Jake. I'm just gonna go over," Embry scanned the beach and found Quil playing volleyball with some Forks girls, "there," he said pointing and walked off.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous of Embry stealing my attention away from you." Jacob played it cool. "Nah, he just gets annoying."

Bella gave a curt nod, "I see." Jacob must've been seeing things because for some reason Bella looked… disappointed? No, that couldn't be it.

"Hey, Jake?" She said, breaking his thoughts. "Hmm?"

"I'm gonna go and get a drink from the snack table. Be right back, okay?"

"Sure, sure. I'll be waiting over there." He pointed to a log by the fire. Bella walked away and he walked over to the log. Jacob sat down and blew out a deep breath. He was going to make progress today. He had to. The wedding was getting closer with each passing day.

Jacob looked up to see Bella walking back to him, a drink in her hand and a girl by her side. What the hell?

"Hey, Jake. I found a new friend."

"Uh, great I guess." He looked up at the girl and gave her a quick smile and she smiled back shyly. "I meant for you. This is Melissa, she's from the Makah res and she's very into cars."

"Uh…"

"Sit, Melissa," Bella instructed the girl. Melissa sat beside Jake, still smiling. Bella started backing away. "Hi. Jacob, right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Alright you two, have fun."

"Bella, wait I–" She didn't hear him though because she was already running across the beach.


	6. Chapter 6

She had to be kidding, right? That could not have just happened. Jacob glanced one more time at Bella's retreating form which convinced him that yes, that did just happen and no, she was not kidding. "I don't really like cars, you know. Sorry I lied about that, but you're really cute. She caught me looking at you and told me to go along with it, so I did. Maybe you could teach me some time though?"

"What?" Jacob said, breaking away from his thoughts. Melissa looked a little less self-assured now that she knew she wasn't holding his full attention. "Uh… cars? I said maybe you could teach me about them?"

"Oh. Sure, sure." Melissa's face lit up at this and she opened her mouth to say something, too slow though because Jacob cut her off. "What exactly did Bella say to you at the snack table?" Her smile fell slightly.

"Not much. Just that you had told her you were interested in me and I should come over here and get to know you."

"That's all?"

"She said you were looking for a girlfriend," Melissa said, her smile and her confidence returning. She slid closer to Jacob and placed her hand just above his knee. A long whistle came from the other side of the beach and Jacob's eyes fell upon Quil still by the volleyball net with Bella at his side. Quil gave Jake a thumbs-up but he wasn't paying attention to that. He was more interested in Bella who was sporting a frown at the moment, her eyes on Melissa. She must've felt Jacob's eyes on her though because they flicked to meet his gaze and she threw on a smile and turned her back to him.

"I'm not."

"You like her, don't you?" Jacob turned his attention back to the girl beside him. "'Like' is an understatement," he said, unintentionally letting some sadness seep through in his voice. Melissa dropped her hand from his knee. "So… you're not interested in me? At all?" Jacob sighed.

"I'm sorry, no." Melissa scooted back to her original sitting place. "If you love this girl, what am I doing here? Why is she trying to set you up with someone else?" At least Melissa had some sense.

Jacob exhaled loudly, rubbing a hand over his face. "Because she doesn't know what's good for her and is too stubborn to listen to reason."

"I think she likes you too."

"She loves me actually. She told me so. I just wish she would stop acting like it was impossible for us to be together."

"Wow, what's wrong with her?" Jacob laughed without humor. That was a good question.

Jacob answered her question with a simple shrug, not knowing how to answer Melissa without sharing too much of Bella's and his own personal business. "I've been trying to get her back. So far it's not going so well."

"Have you tried making her jealous?"

Jacob raised his eyebrows and turned to face Melissa, his interest piqued. "Do you think that would work?"

She shrugged. "Probably. I know if I saw a guy who I loved with another girl, no matter how much I was lying to myself about not loving him, I would be pissed as hell."

"Hmm…" Jacob glanced back over at Bella who was watching them again. On impulse he faced Melissa again and grabbed her face between his hands and brought his lips down to hers. She didn't react at first, probably out of shock, but a couple seconds into the kiss and she had her arms wrapped tightly around Jacob's neck and her lips were moving hungrily against his. Jacob broke away when she moaned. "You're a good kisser. Soft lips."

"Thanks, you too," he said. "Bella! Get the ball!" Jacob heard Seth shout from across the beach and he looked just in time to see Bella spike the volleyball over the net with a strong punch. "Whoa!" Embry said, looking at Bella with pure amazement. "Bella, that was amazing." She shrugged it off. "Whatever," she said, turning to walk down to the water. She stopped when the waves touched her sandaled feet. "I think that got to her a little, don't you?" Jacob ignored Melissa's comment and apologized instead. "I'm sorry I just grabbed you like that. It was uncalled for."

"Are you kidding? That was the best kiss I've ever had." Jacob's ego swelled a bit. He hadn't even been trying. "Yeah, but still…" he said, not knowing how to respond to that without sounding like a douche bag.

"Don't worry about it. I got something out of it and the kiss seems to have served its purpose. She looks pretty pissed."

Jacob didn't have to look at Bella again to know that this was true. "Yeah, thanks for that by the way."

"You know, if you really wanted to make her jealous, we could pretend to date." Jacob didn't even think about it. "I don't think I want to do that. Someone might end up hurt."'

"Well it wouldn't be me. I would already know not to be invested in you. Plus, we wouldn't have to spend a substantial amount of time with each other. Just bring me up in conversations and I'd maybe call if you told me when she would be around ahead of time. I'm just trying to help."

"And what would you get out of all this?"

"I'd be doing a good deed… And getting some good kisses every once in a while." She winked. "What do you say? Deal?" Jacob mulled it over in his head for a bit. It really wasn't a bad idea. Paired with his previous game plan and this, he would have an even greater chance of getting Bella back. "Deal," he said. Melissa stuck her hand out and he took it, giving it a good shake. Melissa took the opportunity of him not being prepared for it and pulled him closer, locking their lips together again. "She was looking," was her explanation when they pulled apart. Melissa pulled out a cell phone from her pocket and flipped it open, pressing a button. "Give me your number. I'll call tomorrow and we'll work out the details." Jacob rattled off the ten digits to his house phone and finished just as Bella stopped in front of them. "I'm ready to go, Jacob," she said.

They both looked up at her expression, half angry and half hurt. As bad as it sounded, Jacob felt like doing a victory dance. Melissa stood from her spot next to him. "I'll call you," she told Jacob, winking again, and walked down the beach.

"What was that all about?" Bella asked him. "That, my dear Bella, was the Jacob Black charm working its magic." They started walking to the edge of the beach toward Jacob's house. Jacob waved to his friends before they were out of sight. "You mean the Melissa-is-a-slut charm working its magic." Jacob had to work to hold back his laugh. This plan was working better than he thought it would and he hadn't done anything but kiss Melissa. "You're the one that introduced me to her. Why would you do so if you thought she was a slut? I think she's a nice girl."

"Of course you would," she kicked a rock on the path out of her way, "her tongue down your throat must've clouded your whore-dar."

"What's that in the air?" Jacob said, stopping in his tracks. He sniffed. "What do you mean?" Bella cautiously smelled the air herself, stopping next to him. "I don't smell anything," she said, sounding slightly panicked, "is it a vampire?"

"No, no. I think it's jealousy!" Jacob laughed loudly. Bella was fuming and smacked his chest. It almost hurt. She must've been pretty mad. Jacob started walking again, a smile left over from his laugh. Bella followed suit. "You–you idiot! You had me half scared to death!"

"Why would you still be scared of leeches? You're marrying one. Scared of your fiancé, too?" Bella looked down. "Of course not… And I wasn't jealous either!" She was getting better at lying, Jacob noted.

"Sure you weren't."

"I wasn't. Just like you weren't jealous when I was talking to Embry."

Jacob scoffed. "Of course I wasn't." Bella smirked sideways at him. "Well good. We were both not jealous then." Bella stopped in front of her car. "Is your bloodsucker coming back soon?" She shook her head. "Not for another two days."

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure my company won't interfere with the call from your whore?" Jacob chuckled. This Melissa thing was really getting to her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bells." She got into her car and started the ignition. Jacob thought he heard her mutter something along the lines of "grabby slut" before she drove off. Jacob walked to his front door actually confident that at the end of all this, Bella would be his.


	7. Chapter 7

"_Brilliant!" _That's what Leah had exclaimed yesterday night when Jacob had called to tell her about his and Melissa's new addition to his game plan. She had sounded angry at herself when she'd wondered out loud why she hadn't though of that herself. "_Making her fucking jealous is just about the smartest thing ever!" _Jacob hadn't wanted to tell her she hadn't thought of it simply because she wasn't that clever for two reasons. One, that would've been a lie because she was the one to come up with his plan in the first place and two, Leah was kind of intimidating – even on the phone. So he'd just mumbled an "I don't know." She'd instructed him to "Get the hell to it, then" before hanging up.

Melissa had called a little while after that and Jacob had clued her in on his plans with Bella the following day. They'd talked on the phone for a while after that. She told him about how she was a sophomore at U-Dub and was majoring in art. She was hoping to become a famous artist someday and be able to move herself and her mother into a better house. Not that there was anything wrong with their house on the Makah res, she'd explained It was decent, but it had kind of fallen to pieces when her Dad had left. She was nine when her mother had told her that he wouldn't be coming back because he'd gotten tired of being responsible.

Jacob broke himself from his thoughts when he realized he was at Bella's house. The drive over could've been tragic if he hadn't memorized the way to her house already. Being part wolf helped out a good deal, too, having enhanced senses and all. Jacob got out of the car, prepared to go knock on Bella's door but she was out of the house before he could close the Rabbit's door. She called a goodbye to Charlie over her shoulder and then ran to his side. By then he was already on the other side of the car.

Jacob could feel a difference in his body as soon as he saw Bella. He was notably relaxed. A smile spread across her face when she saw him, too. It felt good to know he had a positive effect on her, too. Now if only she would just admit it to herself. "Hi Jake," she chirped.

"Hey Bells." He swept her up into the usual hug, squeezing her tight. _Mmm,_ he thought. She'd washed her hair today. The strong smell of strawberries had practically slapped him in the face and he didn't want to let go. "Jacob, you're cutting off my air supply," she said through a laugh. He let her go reluctantly.

"Sorry about that. I'm glad to see you're not cranky anymore." She looked confused.

"Cranky?"

"Don't you remember? You were upset about Mel–"

"Let's not talk about her, okay? You said we were going to have fun on the phone this morning. She's not a fun topic." Jacob smiled smugly. Best plan ever.

"We are going to have fun today, just like I promised. Get in," he said, walking around to the driver's side.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"This place in Port Angeles to get the best burger ever."

"Jake, we could get burgers at the diner. Why leave town for a burger?"

"Shh, don't ruin this. Just enjoy the ride." Bella slumped in her seat.

"Fine."

Jacob smirked and looked over at her. "Oh don't have such a bad attitude. You'll love it. I promise."

"I don't have a bad attitude. Not now and not yesterday either."

Jacob laughed. Obviously yesterday when he'd thought she was getting better at lying, it was a one time thing. "I thought we weren't talking about yesterday?" She was quiet for the rest of the ride.

Twenty minutes later, Jacob parked in front of a restaurant a little smaller than the diner named _Pete's. _It looked kind of shabby and the neon sign out front no longer lit up. Jacob loved it though because the food was great and it was low budget. "It's a little run down," Bella noted.

"Not on the inside, and that's what counts." He took Bella's hand and lead her inside. He was surprised she didn't pull away. They got inside and the scent of food hit Jacob. "Oh my goodness. It smells like heaven."

"Jake, it's just food."

"Bells, you don't understand. You've never been here before."

"Yeah, okay, enlighten me on what good food is."

"Gladly." He took her over to a table and a waitress came not long after they sat down.

"Hi, I'm Gen. What can I get for you?"

"Hi, Gen. Can I get four of Pete's specials please." He handed her the menus with a smile.

"Coming right up," Gen said, and walked away.

"Four? Can you really eat three of whatever you just ordered?"

"Three? Did you want one, too?" Jacob started laughing.

Bella rolled her eyes. "What exactly is a Pete's special anyway?"

"It's a chili burger that I believe is laced with crack. It's too good not to be."

"Is it better than anything I've ever made for you?"

"I'm not answering that question."

"Humph, see if I ever cook for you again."

It took everything Jacob had in him to not say that she probably wouldn't remember how to cook once she was a bloodsucking leech.

"What do you want to be, Bells?" Don't say dead.

She looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Like, what do you want to do with your life? If you'd never met Cullen, what do you think would've happened?"

"I don't know. I can't see myself without Edward anymore."

"Bullshit. What do you want with your life, Bells? It's not like you never had dreams before you met the leech."

She sighed. "I've always been interested in literature. I had this idea when I was fifteen that I would major in English in college and teach that in high schools. I thought about writing a book on the side and after that, working in a publishing house. Then maybe working my way up to owning my own. There are probably so many great books out there that have depth and real thought that are being overlooked because of more 'popular' books. I want to give those books a chance."

Jacob looked at her with what he knew had to be a sappy ass look. He didn't care though. "That's great, Bells. That's a way better dream than wanting to marry a bloodsucker. Way better." He could tell Bella somewhat took that comment offensively but a bigger part of her allowed a smile to grace her face.

"You know, Bella. If you stayed with me, stayed _alive_, you wouldn't have to give that dream up." And the smile was gone. "Jake, this isn't the place to talk about this…"

Jacob sighed. "Fine, Bella. But sooner or later, we're talking about this." Jacob's attention was taken away from Bella for a split second when Gen arrived with their burgers. She dropped them on the table with a smile. "Enjoy."

Jacob slid Bella's burger over to her. "Enjoy," He repeated Gen's words, though not as cheerful, and took a bite of his own burger. "Jacob, I'm sorry."

"It's fine Bella."

"So now I'm Bella? Come on, Jake."

"Let's just eat."

Bella sighed. "Wanna hear something funny?"

He shrugged. "Sure, sure."

"During the school year, in my art class, we were looking at some paintings, right?"

"Uh huh, go 'head," Jacob said through a mouthful of food.

"So the teacher asks us if the painting reminded us of anyone else's work and Mike raises is hand – you remember him, right? – and he says 'Yeah, it looks kind of like something Mozart would paint'." Bella starts laughing uncontrollably as Jacob stares at her with a blank look. "Don't you get it?"

Jacob shook his head.

"Jake… Mozart was a composer, not a painter!" She starts laughing again.

"Only you would find that funny, Bells." Bella smiles at his use of her nickname. "Are you planning on eating that?" Jacob asks her. "Its delicious. Just give it a chance."

"Fine," she said. Bella picked up the burger. "This thing is huge…"

"Just bite it."

Bella opened her mouth as big as she could and bit down. Some of the chili sauce ran down the side of her mouth. "Oh ma gah…" she said through the food.

"Good, right?" She nodded and took another big bite. "Honey, you've got sauce on your nose," he told her, chuckling. She went to wipe it off, blushing. Jacob thought she was adorable.

The bell chimed behind them and Jacob waved. Bella turned around to see Melissa and Jacob could actually feel her mood get darker. She stopped chewing and glared at the girl.

"Melissa, hey," Jacob said, putting on his biggest smile. He had to really sell it to get Bella mad. Melissa smiled back at him.

"Scoot over, babe," Melissa said. She turned to look at Bella. "Hi. Beckie, right?"

Jacob swore he heard Bella growl. She quickly finished chewing her food and wiped her mouth clean of sauce. "It's Bella," she said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh right. You've got something on your nose." Bella's cheeks turned scarlet again and she quickly scrubbed her nose clean till it was pink at the tip. Melissa turned to Jacob. "How are you today?" She purred. Bella snorted in disbelief.

"I'm great," he replied.

"Aren't you happy to see me, Jacob?"

"Of course I am." Last night Melissa had told him to call her by a pet name he had for Bella and calling her honey right now would've been good, but Jacob couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to make Bella jealous, not break her heart into pieces. He would _not_ be like Cullen.

"Don't I get a kiss then?" She smirked slyly. She wasn't kidding about the kisses, then. Jacob leaned in, meaning to peck her, but she wrapped and arm around his neck and pulled him closer.

Bella cleared her throat. "Ahem. Guys, I'm still here." Jacob pulled away. Melissa really was a good kisser.

"Sorry, Bells."

"Yeah whatever." Damn, was she annoyed. "Hey Melissa," Bella said, "what are you doing here anyway?"

Melissa quickly told Bella a story about she and Jacob talking on the phone last night. He had mentioned this place and she'd told him about how much she loved it and would stop here sometimes after her classes. Jacob noticed that she didn't forget to mention she was a sophomore in college. Bella tried to appear as if she didn't care about her being older, muttering under her breath about how that only meant Melissa would die first. Jacob snickered before he remembered that Melissa actually wouldn't die first if Bella went along with her marriage.

"So, Jacob, you knew about her coming?"

"Well, yeah. Sorry I didn't mention it. I thought you'd be okay with it since you were the one who introduced us. Plus, remember yesterday when you said you weren't j–"

"Shut up, Jacob."

"Babe, where's the burger you ordered for me?" Melissa said, butting in.

"Oh right," Jacob said, sliding his third burger over to her. Bella's glare intensified.

"Hey, Bells, you know, Melissa is a painter. Why don't you tell her about what happened in your class that one time. I'm sure it won't go over her head like it did mine."

"I don't remember," Bella sniffed, and bit into her burger. For the rest of the meal, Bella stayed silent, concentrating on finishing her burger and possibly killing Melissa mentally. Jacob held a conversation with Melissa, feeling half smug and half guilty about what he was doing to Bella.

When the bill came, Melissa slipped money in for her food while Bella wasn't looking, explaining how it wasn't a real date so Jacob shouldn't have to pay for her. Jacob paid for his and Bella's food though and the tip.

On the way out, Jacob heard a loud giggle come from the bar. It sounded familiar and strange at the same time. He looked over and saw Leah sitting in front of one of the waiters. It was the weirdest thing ever. Leah rarely smiled and here she was now giggling like a kid. She got up and walked to the bathrooms and Jacob saw his opening. "Wait here," he told Bella and Melissa.

"Hey," he said when he got over to the bar. The guy turned around. His name tag said Jason.

"Yeah?" Jason asked.

"You know Leah?" Jason sort of smiled at the mention of her name.

"Yeah, she used to come here sometimes with her family. Now she comes by herself whenever she comes from some yoga class down the street. Why?"

"She's a friend of mine. You like her or something?"

Jason shrugged. "Yeah, she's cute. Funny too. She acts like she likes me too but always turns me down when I ask her out."

"Leah is the type of girl you've got to be persistent with. She'll come around soon, just keep trying." Jacob took a napkin and asked for a pen and scribbled down Leah's number. "Don't tell her where you got this, just call and keep calling. I've never actually heard Leah laugh before. Cackle, yes, but not laugh."

"Uh, thanks dude."

"No problem."

Jacob returned to Bella and Melissa by the door and ushered them out before Leah could come out of the bathroom and murder him. "What was that all about?" Bella asked.

"Just repaying a favor," Jacob replied.

XXXXX

The ride home was quiet, just like the ride over. Jacob knew it was probably because of what had happened before they had left Port Angeles.

"_She looked pretty upset at the table," Melissa said. She and Jacob were leaning against her car while Bella was waiting in Jacob's. He looked over at her and she was fuming, glaring at them through the windshield. She looked away when she and Jacob made eye contact._

"_She still looks pretty mad," Jacob told her. "Thanks a lot for today, Melissa. We made a little progress today, I think."_

"_Oh no problem. You know, you're really cute for a minor." _

"_Thanks, you're not so bad yourself, for a cougar."_

_Melissa gasped and slapped his shoulder while laughing. Jacob started to laugh, too. Bella honked the horn and Jacob shook his head. _

"_You'd better go before she runs us over." Jacob gave the keys in his hand a shake._

"_She cant, don't worry."_

"_As mad as she is, I think she could control the car with her mind."_

"_Yeah, probably." He got off of her car. _

"_Wait," she said. "One for the rode? It was apart of our deal." Jacob shrugged and leaned down to her height for another kiss. This one was shorter than the last. He didn't want Bella's head to explode. "See ya," Melissa said. She got into her car and drove away._

Jacob pulled up to Bella's house behind the truck. "What's up with the truck being on the curb, Bells? Are you ever going to drive it again?"

"It doesn't work… That's why Edward bought me the new car." Jacob's eyes narrowed. No way that truck had died on it's own. God damn Cullen had probably done something to it. The wheels started turning in Jacob's head.

"Think I could have it since it's dead? There might still be some useful parts in there."

"Uh yeah, sure."

"Thanks. Hey Bells?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you have a good time today? I'd hate to have broken my promise."

"Yeah, I did. Until…"

"Until what?"

"Why did you invite Melissa, Jake? Isn't my company enough for you?"

"Of course, Bella. But Melissa and I are sort of dating now and–"

"That _fast?_"

"Well yeah. I was just trying to distribute my time evenly."

"I don't like you being around her."

"Why not, Bells?"

"Because I…" She hesitated.

Jacob grabbed her hand in his. "Honey, you can tell me anything. You what?"

"I– Jacob I… have to go." Bella pulled her hand out of his, took off her seatbelt and sprinted from the car faster than he had ever seen her move. Jacob leaned over and closed her door. He sighed and let his head fall against the wheel. _So fucking close!_


End file.
